Dumpling heaven

Qing Hua’s homemade delights are a revelation

by MARK SLUTSKY

I think I’m in love with Qing Hua Dumpling. One visit and I was immediately a proselyte—telling anyone who would listen about their magnificent dumplings, practically flagging down passersby in the street to rhapsodize about the restaurant’s homemade noodles. Yes, it was a revelatory experience. I felt like I had discovered my new favourite restaurant. Twenty-four hours later, I was still mentally recreating my meal bite-by-bite as I listlessly chowed down on some cold leftover chicken.

The restaurant that inspired my fevered imaginings and testimonials is a small, three-table joint on St-Marc just below Tupper, in the shabby/classy environs of the streets around the Canadian Centre for Architecture. I’ve said it before, but this area is rapidly becoming the best spot on the island to find high-quality, inexpensive Chinese food.

I could tell Qing Hua was going to be something special as I approached it. I noticed that the interior was small and unadorned, and that, most importantly, it was packed. Indeed, the interior of the semi-basement space is pretty much empty save for three long plastic tables and folding chairs. A small window in the wall opposite looks into the kitchen, and if you like, you can watch the dumplings and noodles being made to order. You should.

You should also visit the little counter next to the window, where you can mix your own dipping sauce. Choose your own combination of dark vinegar, crushed peppers in oil, soy sauce and the mighty Sriracha sauce (I like to go heavy on the vinegar). Then prepare to wait, because the food is made to order, and God bless it for that.

Let’s start with the dumplings. Qing Hua’s owner hails from the port city of Dalian, famed for its dumplings. The ones he serves are jiaozi, the crescent-shaped pockets of dough, not the twisty round ones, but like their soup dumpling cousins, they contain a little tablespoon or so of hot broth along with the filling. It can be dangerous when they’re hot—make sure you don’t scald yourself—but the overall effect is of an in-mouth flavour detonation.

I’ve never seen such variety on a menu before. Ranging in price from $6.49 to $13.99 for a plate of 18, Qing Hua’s choices include pork and cabbage, lamb, beef and coriander, pork with clam, spotted mackerel, egg and onion, egg and shrimp, pork and anise, beef with celery… I could go on. I will, just for a bit. Pork with squid! Shrimp with zucchini and egg! White radish with oyster sauce!

Do I need to mention they’re delicious? They really are. Of the ones we tried, I really did love the pork and cabbage, but each seems to have something to recommend it and I’ll definitely be back to round out my impressions of the menu.

We also ordered a couple of bowls of beef noodle soup ($8.50), which was just as amazing. The noodles—or noodle, as it’s one really long one folded into the soup, which is served with a pair of scissors to make serving/

eating easier—are handmade and wonderfully fresh, so fresh that you’re advised to eat them quickly. The broth is rich and completely addictive.

I could not get enough of this dish, and it was only the fact that the dumplings were still to come that prevented me from being a complete glutton. One of my dining companions, who has lived and travelled extensively in China, told me he’d never had homemade noodles this fine.

We also tried a sliced—possibly smoked?—but definitely marinated pork dish, sort of small thin squares of meat and cartilage that were tasty, but sort of hard to really concentrate on, what with the dumplings and the noodles and the whatnot still filling our heads and stomachs.

I’ll definitely be back to Qing Hua Dumpling sometime soon—I feel like it’s kind of my new favourite restaurant. It’s something else.

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